A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
